Aureon Shavea Grace, a 24-year-old mother from Statesboro, was fatally shot on June 16, 2024, while working in the kitchen at Smith State Prison in Glennville, Georgia. Grace was employed by Aramark and had been assigned to the facility since January 2024. The shooting occurred about 4:30 a.m. on Father’s Day; an inmate, 34-year-old Jaydrekus Hart, shot Grace and then turned the gun on himself. Grace was pronounced dead at the scene; Hart was taken to a hospital and later died of self-inflicted injuries. Officials said a suicide note attributed to Hart was recovered and that he was serving a 20-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter and aggravated battery.

The Georgia Department of Corrections locked down state prisons and opened an investigation centered on how a firearm entered a close-security prison where staff are not armed. Grace’s family has sued the Department, alleging officials knew about a firearm inside the facility for more than a year, ignored inmate warnings, did not conduct an extensive search or provide protective steps, and learned of her death from other inmates using a contraband cellphone rather than from officials. Does anyone have information about Aureon Grace, her work at Smith State Prison, or warnings about a weapon inside the facility?